A surgical stapler both staples and cuts tissue to transect that tissue while leaving the cut ends hemostatic. A typical surgical stapler receives at its distal end a disposable single-use cartridge with several rows of staples, and includes an anvil opposed to the cartridge.
Conventional surgical staplers have an anvil with a straight or curved distal end. However, with the exception of surgical stapler cartridges manufactured by Dextera Surgical Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., all conventional surgical stapler cartridges on the market today have a straight distal end. Surgeons, nurses, technicians, and/or other personnel in the operating room may be hesitant to load or unload curved-tip staple cartridges into a surgical stapler by hand, as they are largely unfamiliar with such cartridges. Thus, there is a need to simplify the process of loading and unloading curved-tip staple cartridges such that the user has more confidence in handling those curved-tip cartridges.
The use of the same reference symbols in different figures indicates similar or identical items.